Comics & Graphic Novels Science Fiction
EC Cruel Universe Vol. 1
- Publisher
- Oni Press
- Initial publish date
- Jul 2025
- Category
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, Anthologies
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781637157855
- Publish Date
- Jul 2025
- List Price
- $26.99
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Description
Compelled to OBLIVION, driven to ENTROPY, all life in our cosmos can only end in one place: COMPLETE ANNIHILATION! For the first time in 70 years, the limitless fury of EC Comics rages back to life to shred the very fabric of the universe itself—and wrench bizarre tales of time and space into our dimensional plane!
Our guides across this riveting introduction to a cosmic maelstrom of strange extraterrestrial entities, malevolent scientists, and terrifying technological catastrophe? Learn to fear the void with the irradiated imaginations of writers Corinna Bechko (Invisible Republic, The Space Between), Christopher Cantwell (Thanos), Chris Condon (That Texas Blood), Matt Kindt (BRZRKR, Mind MGMT), Stephanie Phillips (Phoenix), Ben H. Winters (The Last Policeman), and more as they collide with the wondrously destructive visions of artists Jonathan Case (Green River Killer), Kano (Gotham Central), David Lapham (Stray Bullets), Alison Sampson (Department of Truth), Artyom Topilin (I Hate This Place), Caitlin Yarsky (Black Hammer: Reborn) and many more!
The unpredictable return of EC Comics continues here with the quantum comics event of the millennium! Galaxies will collapse. Space-time will be distorted. And your very will to exist, too, shall be broken. . . . Just remember: It's all in the name of SCIENCE!
Collecting Cruel Universe #1–5.
About the authors
Corinna Bechko is a Hugo- and Eisner-nominated New York Times bestselling author. Her work includes Invisible Republic, Star Wars: Legacy, Savage Hulk, Angel, Once Upon a Time, Court of the Dead, Green Lantern: Earth One, and The Expanse. Corinna lives in Los Angeles, where she works with dinosaurs and rescues parrots.
Chris Condon is the low-down dirty scoundrel behind the ongoing Image Comic series That Texas Blood and its acclaimed Wild West spinoff, The Enfield Gang Massacre, both with artist Jacob Phillips. He waded deep into bayou waters to adapt Barry Gifford's Night People for Oni Press and has not been the same since.
Matt Kindt is a Harvey Award–winning and New York Times–bestselling writer and artist of comics and graphic novels. His work includes MIND MGMT, BRZRKR (with Keanu Reeves), Bang!, Eniac, Revolver, 3 Story, Super Spy, 2 Sisters, and Pistolwhip. He has been nominated for four Eisner Awards and three Harvey Awards (and won once). His work has been published in French, Spanish, Italian, and German. The author lives in St. Louis, Missouri, with his wife and Dept H. collaborator, the colorist and artist Sharlene Kindt.
Stephanie Phillips is an American writer known for comics and graphic novels such as HARLEY QUINN, WONDER WOMAN: EVOLUTION, BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT, SENSATIONAL WONDER WOMAN, WE ONLY KILL EACH OTHER, BIRDS OF A FEATHER, and THE BUTCHER OF PARIS. Her stories and comics have appeared with DC Comics, AfterShock Comics, Dark Horse, Mad Cave Studios, Oni Press, Image Comics, Heavy Metal, Black Mask Studios, A Wave Blue World, and more. Stephanie is currently the writer for the ongoing Harley Quinn series at DC Comics with artist Riley Rossmo.
Stephanie also holds a PhD in rhetoric and composition and an MA in English from the University of South Florida. She has taught writing and communication courses at the University at Buffalo, the University of South Florida, and the University of Tampa.
Stephanie Phillips' profile page
Cullen Bunn is a comic book writer for Mad Cave Studios (Grimm Tales from the Cave, and A Legacy of Violence), Oni Press (The Sixth Gun, The Damned, and The Tooth) and Marvel Comics (Wolverine, Spider-Man: Season One, and Fear Itself: The Fearless). He also writes short fiction and novels, including the middle reader horror novel, Crooked Hills. “Cullen's short stories and non-fiction have appeared in dozens of magazines, anthologies, and e-zines. His noir/horror comic (and first collaboration with Brian Hurtt), The Damned, was published in 2007 by Oni Press. The follow-up, The Damned: Prodigal Sons, was released in 2008. Since then, Brian and Cullen have teamed up on The Sixth Gun, an ongoing supernatural western, and Cullen has also worked on several other projects for Oni Press, Marvel, and DC.
J. Holtham is an American screenwriter, best known for his work on TV shows such as Cloak and Dagger, Jessica Jones, and Supergirl. He recently broke into Marvel Comics with Bishop- War College, and is bringing back fan favorite nineties character, Night Thrasher, for his first solo series in 30 years.
Zac Thompson is a multidisciplinary writer from Prince Edward Island, Canada. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics, including the eco-horror title Ka-Zar: Lord of the Savage Land and showrunning the Age of X-Man event. He has also written characters like Batman and Swamp Thing at DC Comics. In 2017, Zac released his critically acclaimed debut graphic novel, The Dregs. His 2018 follow up, Come Into Me, was named one of the Best 100 Horror Comics of All Time by Paste magazine. In 2021, his science-fiction horror series I Breathed A Body was called one of the best comics of the year by SYFY. In 2022, Thompson's original screenplay The Replacer was selected for production financing from Telefilm Canada. Zac has also written stories for Vice, Huff Post, IGN, Seraphim Films, Image Comics, and many other publications. When Zac's not out foraging for mushrooms or cycling, you can find him at the cinema or walking his dog, Astra.
Kano began his career at the age of 13, editing Spanish-language comics fanzines; at 15 he was already doing layouts and design work for Planeta-DeAgostini. Kano is a founding member of the Spanish magazine about comics, Krazy Comics, as well as the Phoenix Studio, which provided design, illustration, and publishing services and was eventually merged with Camaleón Ediciones, a publishing house that Kano worked for in his early days.
Dan McDaid is a comics writer and artist from Scotland. Following a well regarded run on the UK Doctor Who Magazine, he co-created cosmic comedy drama Jersey Gods for Image Comics and cult hit Time Share for Oni Press. Since then he has worked on such properties as Judge Dredd and Firefly, co-developed and drew TKO's The Fearsome Doctor Fang, and collaborated several times with fellow Scottish legend Irvine Welsh. He lives in a draughty old building overlooking the river Tay. Dega is his first graphic novel.
Caitlin Yarsky is a comic book artist based in Portland, Oregon. Her first two series were Sean Lewis’ Coyotes and Bliss at Image Comics. She was the main artist for Jeff Lemire’s Black Hammer Reborn series at Dark Horse, drew a DC one-shot called Olympus: Rebirth with Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad, and has since drawn Catwoman and back-ups for Shazam (with variant covers from different publishers in between). She is currently working for DC and has started writing and drawing her own series.
Jonathan Case is a cartoonist from the great Pacific Northwest. His 2015 graphic novel, The New Deal (author/artist, Dark Horse), was a nominee for the Reuben, Harvey, and Oregon Book awards for best graphic album. In 2012, he won an Eisner Award for Green River Killer, A True Detective Story (Dark Horse). His other books include Dear Creature (author/artist, Dark Horse), Batman ’66 (artist, DC), Superman: American Alien (artist, DC), and Over the Garden Wall: Distillatoria and Over the Garden Wall: Circus Friends (author, BOOM!).
Artyom Topilin is a freelance artist who has worked on such Skybound titles as I Hate This Place and Creepshow.
Javier Ferna´ndez is a comic book artist from Granada, Spain, known for his interior art and covers for DC Comics as well as the #1 bestselling book of 2021 — King Spawn. His first professional job was in 2010, working on titles for Kickstart Comics. In 2011, he began working with Marvel Comics on Captain America. He also worked on a series of Magneto issues in 2014. Since 2011, Javier has been a regular on many successful DC Comics titles, such as Nightwing, Detective Comics, Teen Titans, Justice League, Green Arrow, and many more.In 2021, Javier began working as lead artist on King Spawn, one of Todd McFarlane’s expanded Spawn Universe titles, published by Image Comics. Currently, he continues working on upcoming issues of this modern classic, where his sequential storytelling is beyond compare. He also has recently created some amazing covers for Predator, New Mutants, and a short story about Spiderman in the bestseller Marvel Zombies: Black, White & Blood.
Javier Fernandez's profile page
David Lapham began his career in the comic industry at the age of 20, working at Valiant Comics learning his craft illustrating and helping to create many original titles, including Shadowman, Harbinger, and Rai. He left Valiant to work at Defiant Comics, where he co-created Warriors of Plasm with Jim Shooter. David turned his back on the superhero genre in 1995 to co-found the independent publishing company El Capitan Books, which began publishing David's comic series Stray Bullets. Lapham has won Eisner Awards for his work on Stray Bullets and Murder Me Dead.
Leomacs is an Italian comic book artist based in Rome, Italy. In Italy, Leomacs has worked extensively for Sergio Bonelli Editore drawing Tex and Dylan Dog. For DC Comics, he has recently collaborated on Lucifer and the seven-part Hill House Comics thriller Basketful of Heads written by Joe Hill. He has drawn the French graphic novel The Invisible Mountain, written by Pierre Makyo and Frédéric Richaud, published by Delcourt. Leomacs and Riccardo La Bella collaborated on the graphic novel Apprendre à maîtriser son destin, Mémoire Vive written by Pierre Makyo for Glénat édition. Leomacs has collaborated as a storyboard artist with Colingwood & Co. for the animated series Horrid Henry. He has also realized storyboards and animated sequences for the film Nessuno mi troverá directed by Egidio Eronico.
Riley Rossmo is an illustrator and creator currently making comics and character designs. He started illustrating in 2004 where he mostly worked in advertising, editorial illustration, and character design. His first comic series, Proof, from Image, came out in 2007. Since then he’s made comics with Image Comics (Cowboy Ninja Viking, Green Wake, Bedlam, Rasputin), Marvel (Daken The Dark, Wolverine) and currently DC Comics (Batman, Batman/Shadow, Constantine the Hellblazer, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter).
David Rubín is a Spanish cartoonist born in Ourense, Galicia, in 1977. He’s the visionary creator behind The Hero, co-creator and illustrator on Ether with Matt Kindt, Cosmic Detective with Matt Kindt and Jeff Lemire, Battling Boy: The Rise of Aurora West with Paul Pope and J.T. Petty, Rumble with John Arcudi, the Eisner nominated Beowulf graphic novel with Santiago García, and Grand Hotel Abyss with Marcos Prior, among others. David lives in a town close to Madrid, Spain, with his family and a dog.
Alison Sampson is an award winning London-based artist, drawing comics and illustrations in the fields of horror (Hellboy, Winnebago Graveyard, the 2023 Eisner nominated Department of Truth, Werewolf by Night), fantasy (Sleeping Beauties Vols. 1 & 2), science fiction (The Blue Tarantula), and adventure (Hit-Girl: India),and more. Recent writing credits (also drawing) are the Tori Amos anthology, Little Earthquakes, which received four Eisner nominations in 2023, Iron Maiden/Z2, and for Trina Robbins's upcoming Won't Back Down benefit anthology for Planned Parenthood.
Christopher Cantwell is an Eisner-nominated comic book writer of such titles as DOCTOR DOOM and IRON MAN for Marvel Comics, STAR TREK: DEFIANT for IDW, PLASTIC MAN NO MORE! for DC Comics, and original books such as SHE COULD FLY (Berger Books), BRIAR (Boom! Studios), and The Blue Flame (Vault). He is also the co-creator, Executive Producer and showrunner of the critically acclaimed television series HALT AND CATCH FIRE, and is also currently serving as EP & showrunner of THE TERROR: DEVIL IN SILVER, set to air on AMC in 2025.
Christopher Cantwell's profile page
Ben H. Winters is the New York Times–bestselling, Edgar Award–winning, and Philip K. Dick Award–winning author of Big Time, The Quiet Boy, Golden State, Underground Airlines, the Last Policeman trilogy, and the mash-up novel Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. Ben has also worked extensively in television. He is the creator of the smash-hit CBS show Tracker and has served as a writer/producer on the FX cult hit Legion, as well as Manhunt on Apple TV+. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, three kids, and one large dog.
Editorial Reviews
“The imagination and talent involved in Cruel Universe makes the anthology an exciting and intriguing read… Cruel Universe is fun, shocking, and contains moments of poignancy that made the original EC titles so dangerous and popular. The possibilities are endless.”
<I><B>Monkeys Fighting Robots</B></I>
“It’s a good time to be an EC fan… I’m really excited how they take an EC approach to contemporary times.”
<I><B>Dads from the Crypt</B></I>
“Reviving the Entertaining Comics brand, Cruel Universe could have merely cashed in on the nostalgia of the brand's legacy in the world of horror in sci-fi, but the experience goes above and beyond expectation to deliver tales of terror that feel both timeless and incredibly contemporary. From a twist of fate using a black hole to time travel to the true cost of being an intergalactic gladiator, [Cruel Universe] offers up drastically different stories that push the boundaries of technology, science, morality, and mortality. Each story feels like we're watching an all-new episode of Black Mirror, given the overall fresh feeling and modern voice of each story, and while other throwback comics might aim to channel a familiar art style, Cruel Universe doesn't rest on its laurels and, while some of the compositions of the panels might evoke the '50s and '60s style, the overall aesthetic is entirely modern. Oni Press had their work cut out for them with this revival of EC, and not only did they meet expectations, but they completely shattered them."
<I><B>Comicbook.com</B></I>
“I’m so glad this comic exists. [Cruel Universe] features some great, hard-hitting science fiction stories that will have you guessing until the very end. I particularly loved ‘Solo Shift,’ which might be my favorite anthology story of the year. Oni Press is proving they are indeed the best spot for EC Comics.”
<I><B>Comic Frontier</B></I>
“Phenomenal... A truly immersive and captivating reading experience… From mind-bending stories to the intricate artwork, every detail has been carefully crafted to draw us in and keep us on the edge of our seats. … The revival of EC Comics not only has met expectations, but has soared far past them and doesn’t seem to be slowing down. EC Cruel Universe #1 is a grand triumph for Oni Press and a treat to us fans of science fiction. With compelling short stories, amazing artwork and a fresh take on the old school anthologies of older EC Comics, this debut issue sets a new standard for modern comics with classic themes.”
<I><B>Capes and Tights</B></I>
“Really well done.”
<I><B>Comics Beat</B></I>
“I’m so glad this comic exists. [Cruel Universe] features some great, hard-hitting science fiction stories that will have you guessing until the very end. I particularly loved ‘Solo Shift,’ which might be my favorite anthology story of the year. Oni Press is proving they are indeed the best spot for EC Comics.”
<I><B>Comic Frontier</B></I>
“A welcome throwback to the science-fiction of yesteryear. It contains four tales, each of which is a total banger… Even expecting a twist ending, as in the finest Tales of the Crypt and Twilight Zone episodes, I am not ashamed to say that most of these stories got me… And the art teams are uniformly amazing… The new Golden Age starts here!”
<I><B>KABOOOOOM!</B></I>
“Now, like the ghosts and zombies who haunted many of its pages, EC is back from the beyond [...] with the same radical spirit as their predecessors.”
<I><B>LA Review of Books</B></I>
"Twists, turns, and tantalizing sci-fi storytelling await you in Cruel Universe.... I can safely say the sci-fi side of EC Comics is in great hands with these incredible stories."
<I><B>AIPT Comics</B></I>
